Radiation protection authorities in Ghana and Sri Lanka have received thousands of dosimeters from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) to help keep radiation workers in these countries safe.
Wearing dosimeters is a workplace safety practice that measures and tracks radiation exposure.
This ensures that individuals working with or near radiation sources do not exceed safe dose limits.
Sri Lanka's Atomic Energy Board Director General, Champika Nirosh Dharmapala, says that with this equipment, they will be able to develop a personal radiation monitoring service like ARPANSA's .
'This contribution makes a meaningful impact on our operations and brings us closer to our goal of providing high-quality radiation protection services to all radiation workers in Sri Lanka,' he said.
'It significantly expands the reach and reliability of our Individual Monitoring Service Laboratory, ensuring better radiation safety for professionals working with ionising radiation.'
ARPANSA's Personal Radiation Monitoring Service Director, Lynnette Reid-Price, says it's important people wear dosimeters as they provide assurance that organisational safety processes work.
' Australia's latest occupational exposure data shows that radiation doses in the workplace are highly controlled and remain well below safety limits,' Ms Reid-Price said.
'Donating functional equipment that we no longer use in Australia aligns with our core role to protect people and the environment.
'We're thrilled to see these monitors have a second life protecting people from radiation and providing workers with peace of mind in Sri Lanka and Ghana.'
ARPANSA recently upgraded the dosimeters used in the Personal Radiation Monitoring Service. They worked with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in December 2024 to donate surplus stock to Ghana and Sri Lanka.
As the Australian Government's primary radiation authority, ARPANSA works with leading international authorities like the IAEA to promote and implement best-practice radiation safety practices across the world for workers and the public.
How do dosimeters work?
A worker is assigned their own dosimeter to wear whenever they may be exposed to ionising radiation. The dosimeter records the accumulated dose over a set time period.
This allows for a record to be kept of each employee's accumulated dose. The dosimeter can then be reset and used again.
The dosimeters donated by ARPANSA will be used by Ghanian and Sri Lankan authorities to augment their occupational radiation monitoring programs.
